Recipe Thread
Apr 12, 2013 15:21:28 GMT
Post by The Stalker on Apr 12, 2013 15:21:28 GMT
Ok, at Zhou's request I am starting a recipe thread. First up, my Tom Yam Kai.
This is my re-work of a Tom Yam Khung recipe I found. I have no idea if Tom Yam Kai is made with coconut cream, but it rocks, so I do it.
The original recipe (which is also fantastic) can be found here: shesimmers.com/2011/10/tom-yam-kung-%E0%B8%95%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B8%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%87-with-video.html
For both the original and my version you will first need some Nam Prik Pai (Thai chilli jam) and the recipe for that is here: shesimmers.com/2011/01/nam-prik-pao-thai-chilli-jam-secret.html
For my version you will also need Shrimp stock. You could probably just add coconut cream to the Shrimp version as well, but if you are going to make the chicken version you have to use shrimp stock. Why? Because shrimp (either whole in chicken stock, or as the base of the soup as shrimp stock) gives you the sweetness which is an essential part of the balance of the soup. Next time you cook shrimp keep all the heads and shells, and the do this:
Awesome Rich Shrimp Stock
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 cups shrimp shells
(from 2 pounds of shrimp fresh or frozen)
1 unpeeled red onion, sliced
1 organic carrot, sliced
1 organic celery, sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
(or 1/4 cup leftover rich tomato sauce)
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 sprig parsley
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig chives
1 sprig oregano
1 -2 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon fennel seed
black pepper
6 cups water
Directions:
1 In a stock pot heat olive oil. Add shells and cook till they turn pink up to 10 minutes to intensify the flavor.
2 Add remaining ingredients except the water.
3 Cover and cook for about 10 minutes the longer you can draw this process out, the more of the natural juices of the scraps will be released. This is awesome flavoring. Add just a pinch of salt to speed the process.
4 Cover with water bring just to a boil: lower heat to simmer for 20 minutes.
5 Strain into a container extracting out all the goodness from the scraps.
6 Cool completely and freeze or use as you like.
Then you are ready for your Tom Yam Kai (almost all below comes from the site listed above, I have just adjusted for the change in ingredients)
Ingredients
* 1¨ö cups Shrimp Broth
* 4 Chicken breasts
* 5-6 fresh kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces and lightly bruised
* 6-7 slices of lemongrass, approximately ¨û-inch thick
* 6-7 very thin slices of fresh galangal
* ¨ú cup canned straw mushrooms (or fresh white mushrooms), drained and halved
* 2 tablespoon of Nam Prik Pao
* 4 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, or to taste
* 42 tablespoons of fish sauce, or to taste (see notes in the post about the sodium level in the broth)
* 400 ml can of coconut cream
* 4-5 small dried red chilies (I use arbol), broken up
* ¨ù cup lightly-packed cilantro leaves
Instructions
1. Brown the chicken. Personally I like to buy bone in skin on chicken, brown it like that, and debone and de-skin. Then I freeze the bones and skin to make chicken stock later. Cook the chicken all the way through, but be careful not to overcook. Once cooked cut the chicken into cubes.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a very gentle boil over medium heat. Monitor the temperature so that the liquid is not boiling furiously but barely simmering. [We're infusing the broth with fresh herbs in the manner similar to making tea; we're not cooking the life out of them.]
3. Add the lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves to the broth; continue to monitor the temperature.
4. Add the mushrooms.
5. Stir in Nam Prik Pao.
6. Add the fish sauce, followed by the dried chilies.
7. Add the coconut cream
8. As the broth is gently simmering add the chicken. You don't want it to hot, as you are not cooking the chicken. If the broth is too hot you will just make your chicken tough.
9. Once the chicken is heated through remove the saucepan from heat.
10. Season the soup off the heat with the lime juice. Taste. Add more fish sauce or lime juice as necessary.
11. Stir in the cilantro leaves and serve the soup piping hot with rice (it is, after all, an entree).
It seems like a lot of work, but once you have a batch of Nam Prik Pao you can make the soup many times (and use the awesome chilli jam for other things as well). And you can alternate making the Khung (prawn) and Kai (chicken) versions, and keeping your prawn heads/shells and chicken bones to make stock for future occasions. If you are in a hurry and use store bought chicken stock taste carefully before adding fish sauce, or you will oversalt your soup
Now please excuse me, I am going to make dinner
This is my re-work of a Tom Yam Khung recipe I found. I have no idea if Tom Yam Kai is made with coconut cream, but it rocks, so I do it.
The original recipe (which is also fantastic) can be found here: shesimmers.com/2011/10/tom-yam-kung-%E0%B8%95%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B3%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B8%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%87-with-video.html
For both the original and my version you will first need some Nam Prik Pai (Thai chilli jam) and the recipe for that is here: shesimmers.com/2011/01/nam-prik-pao-thai-chilli-jam-secret.html
For my version you will also need Shrimp stock. You could probably just add coconut cream to the Shrimp version as well, but if you are going to make the chicken version you have to use shrimp stock. Why? Because shrimp (either whole in chicken stock, or as the base of the soup as shrimp stock) gives you the sweetness which is an essential part of the balance of the soup. Next time you cook shrimp keep all the heads and shells, and the do this:
Awesome Rich Shrimp Stock
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 cups shrimp shells
(from 2 pounds of shrimp fresh or frozen)
1 unpeeled red onion, sliced
1 organic carrot, sliced
1 organic celery, sliced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
(or 1/4 cup leftover rich tomato sauce)
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 sprig parsley
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig chives
1 sprig oregano
1 -2 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon fennel seed
black pepper
6 cups water
Directions:
1 In a stock pot heat olive oil. Add shells and cook till they turn pink up to 10 minutes to intensify the flavor.
2 Add remaining ingredients except the water.
3 Cover and cook for about 10 minutes the longer you can draw this process out, the more of the natural juices of the scraps will be released. This is awesome flavoring. Add just a pinch of salt to speed the process.
4 Cover with water bring just to a boil: lower heat to simmer for 20 minutes.
5 Strain into a container extracting out all the goodness from the scraps.
6 Cool completely and freeze or use as you like.
Then you are ready for your Tom Yam Kai (almost all below comes from the site listed above, I have just adjusted for the change in ingredients)
Ingredients
* 1¨ö cups Shrimp Broth
* 4 Chicken breasts
* 5-6 fresh kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces and lightly bruised
* 6-7 slices of lemongrass, approximately ¨û-inch thick
* 6-7 very thin slices of fresh galangal
* ¨ú cup canned straw mushrooms (or fresh white mushrooms), drained and halved
* 2 tablespoon of Nam Prik Pao
* 4 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, or to taste
* 42 tablespoons of fish sauce, or to taste (see notes in the post about the sodium level in the broth)
* 400 ml can of coconut cream
* 4-5 small dried red chilies (I use arbol), broken up
* ¨ù cup lightly-packed cilantro leaves
Instructions
1. Brown the chicken. Personally I like to buy bone in skin on chicken, brown it like that, and debone and de-skin. Then I freeze the bones and skin to make chicken stock later. Cook the chicken all the way through, but be careful not to overcook. Once cooked cut the chicken into cubes.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a very gentle boil over medium heat. Monitor the temperature so that the liquid is not boiling furiously but barely simmering. [We're infusing the broth with fresh herbs in the manner similar to making tea; we're not cooking the life out of them.]
3. Add the lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves to the broth; continue to monitor the temperature.
4. Add the mushrooms.
5. Stir in Nam Prik Pao.
6. Add the fish sauce, followed by the dried chilies.
7. Add the coconut cream
8. As the broth is gently simmering add the chicken. You don't want it to hot, as you are not cooking the chicken. If the broth is too hot you will just make your chicken tough.
9. Once the chicken is heated through remove the saucepan from heat.
10. Season the soup off the heat with the lime juice. Taste. Add more fish sauce or lime juice as necessary.
11. Stir in the cilantro leaves and serve the soup piping hot with rice (it is, after all, an entree).
It seems like a lot of work, but once you have a batch of Nam Prik Pao you can make the soup many times (and use the awesome chilli jam for other things as well). And you can alternate making the Khung (prawn) and Kai (chicken) versions, and keeping your prawn heads/shells and chicken bones to make stock for future occasions. If you are in a hurry and use store bought chicken stock taste carefully before adding fish sauce, or you will oversalt your soup
Now please excuse me, I am going to make dinner